Sprint first with Jelly Bean update for Galaxy S III users

Other carriers will be passing out their candy "soon," but Sprint has 4.1 now.

Sprint has begun gradually rolling out Android 4.1 ("Jelly Bean") to Galaxy S III users today, making it the first US carrier to launch the update for non-Nexus phones. The Jelly Bean update comes after Samsung's recent announcement that it would be releasing Android 4.1 "soon." For Sprint users, "soon" has become "now."

The update brings with it features like Google Now, NFC One-Touch pairing support, and camera enhancements like a low-light photo mode. Jelly Bean also includes some usability enhancements—rearranging widgets on the home screen no longer requires manual repositioning. Instead, widgets can now dynamically reposition themselves to make room for new widgets as they are dragged around the grid.

Samsung had previously announced the update would be made available to all cellular carriers that offer the Galaxy S III—including AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, US Cellular, and Sprint. However, a quick check this morning on an Android 4.0-powered Verizon Galaxy S III did not show any updates pending. For now, it seems only Sprint Galaxy S III users are getting Jelly Bean. There is no word yet on when the other carriers will follow suit.

JB is supposedly coming to the Galaxy S II as well in November. I'm looking forward to playing with Google Now on my phone. It's kind of fun on my tablet, an Asus Transformer, but on a phone I'm hoping to really get some use out of it.

Edit: It's funny. Every time I mention my Transformer, somebody asks me which one I have. I have the TF300T (Amazon link) with the dock.

That is because the testing has already been done behind the scenes. Do you really think that apple has the much control? Those updates are done months in advance and are sent to the carriers for testing and the back and forth is done then. Its all about the radios being tweaked.

Google just does software, not hardware. They put the software out, then the OEMs have to do the upgrades for the hardware. So the public already knows about the update that is supposed to happen and they are clamoring that they want it now. Meanwhile the carriers are doing their testing to make sure that they radios don't bring down the network.

Given Samsung has to apply all their TouchWiz customization on top, I'm just glad they got it ready so quickly. It would be so much better if it was stock, but that's a bit much to ask for a non-Nexus device.

Here's to hoping T-Mobile pushes the update out soon as well.

For the Apple people out there: Keep in mind that Apple has a very small group of devices that need updates, much less than 10 even counting the cellular-enabled tablets. The Android device ecosystem is so diverse that there are a lot more hardware variations to cover. Given some of the low-end crud that is pushed out with Android, it's not surprising that a good majority of devices don't see any updates. If you want to compare with the iPhone (single line from from the company that writes the OS), stick to just the Nexus devices (single "line" from the company that writes the OS).

Color me surprised. One reason I avoided the S3 was not getting my hopes up for a timely JB release (got Galaxy Nexus).

I think the problem with new versions being ported to current phones quickly is Google is not open enough with final code along with each manufacturer needs time to update and test their custom skin before they can release it.

Google could have final code then hold off on announcing anything for a month while manufacturers get an update ready. But then that goes against the openness of Android and letting developers outside manufacturers play with code. Apple has full control when stuff is shown in beta or announced, and their iOS is the skin for their devices.

That is because the testing has already been done behind the scenes. Do you really think that apple has the much control? Those updates are done months in advance and are sent to the carriers for testing and the back and forth is done then. Its all about the radios being tweaked.

Google just does software, not hardware. They put the software out, then the OEMs have to do the upgrades for the hardware. So the public already knows about the update that is supposed to happen and they are clamoring that they want it now. Meanwhile the carriers are doing their testing to make sure that they radios don't bring down the network.

Google does hardware it's called Motorola. So does Microsoft. Things have changed.

The reason Android gets accused of slow updates and fragmentation is that Google announces the update then gives it to the carriers, creating expectations and impatience. Android users usually get updates about once per year on their phone which works out the same as IOS. The "lateness" is a psychological artifact of the release process.

I find it odd that Samsung gets the 4.1 update before the Motorola devices. But then again, it might just be my child-like anger since I bought the Razr MAXX and not the Galaxy.

Then again, why isn't Motorola one of the first with the release? I'd assume that they would have earlier access to the code than others considering Google owns them now...

Motorola might not be given the advantage of early access specifically because they are owned by Google. Anti-trust, anti-competitive practices, that sort of thing. I'm not sure how much trouble they'd get into for it, but I can't imagine all of the other hardware vendors sitting still for it.

It seems from my meager experience that carrier upgrades are not always what we hope for.

I have a Galaxy S2 on Sprint, and it never worked right after going to ICS from Gingerbread. Battery consumption increased by approx 300%, the UI hangs every fifth time or so (requiring a sleep->wake cycle to unfreeze), and nice little touches like desktop panning were removed. For me, I like ICS a lot, but I'd go back to Gingerbread of I could.

Hopefully Galaxy S3 owners will not have the same pain with JB, though I suspect they will to a lesser extent.

I find it odd that Samsung gets the 4.1 update before the Motorola devices. But then again, it might just be my child-like anger since I bought the Razr MAXX and not the Galaxy.

Then again, why isn't Motorola one of the first with the release? I'd assume that they would have earlier access to the code than others considering Google owns them now...

Motorola might not be given the advantage of early access specifically because they are owned by Google. Anti-trust, anti-competitive practices, that sort of thing. I'm not sure how much trouble they'd get into for it, but I can't imagine all of the other hardware vendors sitting still for it.

They wouldn't get into any "trouble", but yes, that would certainly tick off their hardware partners quite a bit. And, since they need those guys, they're probably treading pretty carefully.

Color me surprised. One reason I avoided the S3 was not getting my hopes up for a timely JB release (got Galaxy Nexus).

I think the problem with new versions being ported to current phones quickly is Google is not open enough with final code along with each manufacturer needs time to update and test their custom skin before they can release it.

Google could have final code then hold off on announcing anything for a month while manufacturers get an update ready. But then that goes against the openness of Android and letting developers outside manufacturers play with code. Apple has full control when stuff is shown in beta or announced, and their iOS is the skin for their devices.

Maybe manufactures shouldn't roll their own skin and just stick to AOSP??

This sounds all reasonable and all, but as a consumer, I DON'T CARE. Consumers only care about whether the thing work or not and I want it yesterday. Being a Android apologists aren't gonna make things right.

Bottom line========When ICS or JB came out, nobody supported it except for Google phones. Good luck for a layman to try and find/install the upgrade. My brother had to dig around a bit for his ICS upgrade for his Droid, and we are tech savvy.

When iOS5/6 came out, all supported phones announced by Apple were supported within a few weeks. Automatically pushed to your phone. One touch install. No joke. My computer illiterate friend successfully upgrade his phone to iOS6 within any external help.

Just keeping it real.

Motoko-chan wrote:

Given Samsung has to apply all their TouchWiz customization on top, I'm just glad they got it ready so quickly. It would be so much better if it was stock, but that's a bit much to ask for a non-Nexus device.

Here's to hoping T-Mobile pushes the update out soon as well.

For the Apple people out there: Keep in mind that Apple has a very small group of devices that need updates, much less than 10 even counting the cellular-enabled tablets. The Android device ecosystem is so diverse that there are a lot more hardware variations to cover. Given some of the low-end crud that is pushed out with Android, it's not surprising that a good majority of devices don't see any updates. If you want to compare with the iPhone (single line from from the company that writes the OS), stick to just the Nexus devices (single "line" from the company that writes the OS).

Given Samsung has to apply all their TouchWiz customization on top, I'm just glad they got it ready so quickly. It would be so much better if it was stock, but that's a bit much to ask for a non-Nexus device.

I've found TouchWiz to be pretty minimally invasive myself. I was, however, pleasantly surprised that Widget Locker (I forget how much it is for sure but I want to say it was $3) allows you to use the vanilla ICS launcher without rooting.

I've tested this on 2 AT&T Galaxy S 3s and on my own Galaxy S2 from Boost Mobile. Works very nicely.

Because it adds nothing whatsoever to the discussion. This is not a comparative article regarding iOS and Android; it is solely about Android. We, frankly, don't care that your OS of choice got pushed out to a larger percentage of existing devices faster. You're comparing Toasters to Oranges here. The closed iOS ecosystem is very different and not entirely comparable so posting what you have is, if not trolling, completely useless.

When Apple releases an update, Apple is the one supporting it. Apple deals directly with the end user and owns that relationship along with the responsibility that comes with it. How often do you think AT&T or Verizon deals with iPhone support?

Android is a different ballgame - the carriers have that relationship with the end user, and therefore just because Google releases an OS update it doesn't mean they don't have their own QA process to run things through. Added on to that are all the customizations they are allowed to do that they are not with iOS and you have the situation we are in now - updates that lag Google releases. This really isn't that hard to understand - it's how the Android ecosystem works and in fact how it was designed to work.

The cell phone market is cutthroat (especially in the US), which shouldn't be news to anyone here. It's all about retaining customers and locking them in to contracts - it's how the revenue model works. These days that means always moving towards the latest and greatest - supporting and upgrading "older" devices (old being relative in the smart phone world) is much lower in priority for these companies. It's just one of the things you have to deal with in the Android world - you want an iOS experience then get an iOS device and accept it's own shortcomings. Complaining that Google should somehow force the carriers to change this process is just tilting at windmills in my opinion, not with the wide variety of devices that run Android out there.

Any word on upgrade plans for I9300 (international version) owners? Bought mine from Amazon and eagerly awaiting JB goodness. Thought seriously about going with CyanogenMod 10, but after reading about lack of noise cancellation support and issues with FM, I decided to stay put.

Update: apparently,it is available from Samsung for I9300. Just tried, and it says "Access to the software update is provided to users in the order in which they request it. Try later". Probably everyone is hitting on it. Must practice meditation ... patience, patience.

I find it odd that Samsung gets the 4.1 update before the Motorola devices. But then again, it might just be my child-like anger since I bought the Razr MAXX and not the Galaxy.

Then again, why isn't Motorola one of the first with the release? I'd assume that they would have earlier access to the code than others considering Google owns them now...

I have a friend with one of the Razrs on Verizon (I forget the exact model; HD or thereabouts). He just yesterday got an update to ICS so I'm sure the MAXX update is coming along. That said, there's more to deal with n Moto phones as I understand it. Moto Blur really gets in the way of updates more than TouchWiz does on Samsung devices, it seems. I'm really hoping Google kills it off.

It seems from my meager experience that carrier upgrades are not always what we hope for.

I have a Galaxy S2 on Sprint, and it never worked right after going to ICS from Gingerbread. Battery consumption increased by approx 300%, the UI hangs every fifth time or so (requiring a sleep->wake cycle to unfreeze), and nice little touches like desktop panning were removed. For me, I like ICS a lot, but I'd go back to Gingerbread of I could.

Hopefully Galaxy S3 owners will not have the same pain with JB, though I suspect they will to a lesser extent.

That's really odd. I have one of the Boost Mobile S2s which are, in fact, identical to Sprint's from a hardware perspective. It came with ICS out of the box and works fine for me. Have you tried a factory reset? I've seen cases where an over the top install from GB to ICS can be weird like that due to some app settings or cache leftovers but a factory reset always resolves it.

Florence Ion / Florence was a former Reviews Editor at Ars, with a focus on Android, gadgets, and essential gear. She received a degree in journalism from San Francisco State University and lives in the Bay Area.